MyOldVintageHifi is about my hobby and passion to restore old vintage hifi gear to their former glory (where possible) for personal enjoyment.

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Saturday, June 1, 2013

DIY clone of the Rogers LS 3/5A with 23AB crossover

After listening to the LS 3/5A clone with the replica 11ohm crossover, I decided to populate the 23AB board as it has the AB Butterworth enhancement for the tweeter. This is because I find the 11ohm crossover board presentation to be not as open as my floorstander e.g English reserve in nature (surprise surprise)

My objective was not to create a clone of the LS 3/5A but a DIY which would sound close to the capabilities of my floorstander. Benefits include cost effective replacement of parts and ease of doing so myself.

Since the Monacor MDM-2 and my hybrid insulator were available, I took the opportunity to replace the make-to-do foam in the LS 3/5A cabinet with them.

Changing insulators within cabinet - MDM2 on side and back panel; my hybrid insulator on top and bottom

How does it sound?

Testing ohm reading after hookup before sealing baffle to cabinet

I would say a more open and natural presentation than the replica crossover. Headroom from the presentation was a revelation when compared to the output via the replica 11ohm crossover.

For the first couple hours or so, there was no bass. Slight hint of bass was produced after the first couple hours. As time progresses, the presentation changes progressively. More bass was audible after 20hrs and again after 30hrs.

After about 40hrs of run-in, the presentation is with good detail and pleasant for hours of enjoyable fatigue-free listening. Bass from good recordings are reproduce with realism as well. The English accent is still present but not as strongly enforced as via the replica crossover.

Couple of weeks later, a visitor who owns a pair of BC1 with valve amps (for many years and still does) commented he was surprised my DIY speakers sounded like his BC1 setup!!!